Manoj Bajpayee receives Padma Shri from President Ramnath Kovind

Earlier in an interview with indianexpress.com, Manoj Bajpayee had shared that getting recognised by the government means a lot to him as his years of work dedicated to cinema has finally found meaning.

On Saturday, in a ceremony held in New Delhi, President Ramnath Kovind conferred the prestigious Padma Shri on Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee. Dressed in a traditional attire, Manoj received the honour with folded hands.

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Also present on the occasion were other Padma Shri awardees like Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir and the renowned scientist Nambi Narayanan. Interestingly, a film is currently in the works on Narayanan, which is called Rocketry: The Nambi Effect featuring R Madhavan in the titular role.

“All other awards are given for excellence in a role or a film. But Padma Shri is given for excellence in your journey. It’s not just about a film you have contributed to but through your art and craft the contribution you have made to the society. So, that’s a huge comment on the achievement of an artist like me,” the actor said.

Manoj was last seen in the dacoit drama Sonchiriya, which won over the critics, but didn’t manage to bring people in large numbers to cinema halls. The actor will next be seen in the Netflix film Dhaka. Dhaka also features Chris Hemsworth, Pankaj Tripathi, David Harbour and Randeep Hooda in pivotal roles.